The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-06-04
SWINDLER AND BIGAMIST.
The Marvellous Career of the Swindler
Captured at Wilkesbarre.

Captured at Wilkesbarre.
From Washington Letter to the PHILADELPHIA
Press
About ten days ago Gen. Black, Com
missioner of Pensions, received information
that a person representing himself as f. A.
Raburn, was operating in Luzerne county,
Pa, in the guise of special examiner of the
Pension Bureau and demanding money for
imaginary services to be performed in con-
nection with the prosecution of pension
claims. As no special examiner is author
lied to receive money for his services.
Gen Black knew that the fellow was an
impostor and Immediately took measures to
secure his arrest, which was effected at
Wlkesbarre on Friday. 1t was not known
until to-day who Raburn really was, and the
capture was not fairly appreciated until it
was ascertaided that he is the most cele-
brated pension swindler in the country. His
true name is jeremiah Travis, and he was
born in Tioga county, Pa, about fifty years
ago. Up to the breaking out of the war he
resided in Tioga county and then drifted
among the soldiers around Washington as a
card sharp and runner for faro banks.
Soon after the war he got into an alterca-
ton with a canalboat captain at Buffalo.
whom he killed, but he managed to escape
with a sentence of only five years in States
prison. After his release, in 1878, he
turned up in Syracuse, n. Y, where he be-
gan his old business of swindling. He mar
ried a Miss Webb, and in less than one week
after he began desperate Irritation with q
widow named Parsons, in Canton, in the
same State. whom he welded under the
title of Maj. Sheldon Burleigh, U. S. A. He
tired of the widow within few months.
and one morning took a fast train
for the west, and settled in South Bend,
Ind, under the name of H. c. Pomeroy.
where he undertook to promote doubtful
pension claims. There he married a
Miss Mason, but soon deserted her and next
appeared i'll Wabash, Ind, as J. w. jerks,
owner of California gold mine He made
the acquaintance of Mrs. NJ Stewart, who
owned a small farm, and after few months
of courtship married her She was induced
by Travis to sell her farm for 81 800 in cash
and leave her home to become the mistress
of palatial mansion on the Pacific coast
When the couple reached Chicago on their
way to California Travis borrowed the
money on pretense of taking better care of
it. The wly-made wife never saw him
again and wandered about all night in the
great city.
Nothing more was heard of him until 1879
when he turned up in Allegheny county. Pa.
under the name of John Hoax. Having
been arrested on the charge of grand lor-
ceny, he was convicted and sentenced to the
Allegheny penitentiary for three years. AZ
ter serving his term he went TO Cumberland.
Md. and began career as bogus special
examiner of pensions, giving his name as
A. {. Webb. He also laid siege TO the
heart of Mrs. j. =. Anderson, widow
with one son. She surrendered and became
Mrs, A. G. Webb Davis employed her
boy at a salary of 50 50 day, but never
paid the salary. He fled from Cumberland
when the Pension Bureau officials arrived
there, and was traced TO Marietta, Pa,
where he was arrested On May 26, 1884.
he was convicted III the United States Court
at Philadelphia and sentenced 10 two wears
in the Eastern Penitentiary. After serving
his term he was taken 10 Mount Holly. N.
j., where he was tried for obtaining money
from pensioners under false pretenses and
sentenced TO one year in the Burlington
county jail, from which institution he was
released about a month ago.
Travis has swndled hundreds of people n
Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana and New
Jersey. His most successful schemes were
TO pass himself off as a Special Examiner of
the Pension Bureau, as n Commissioner of
Pensions anda pension detective. Fully 800
pensioners paid HIM fees ranging from 81 so
and - 10 secure for them an increase. and
the cleyHc ft4Ile was enabled 10 live in
clover.f M1u4k bis many assumed names
are JaiftQt 1ttilson j. Thomas, Rev. John
lift, Gu heteA Rev. A. Ration, Capt John
a. Moore Non. u A. Bentley, ex-Conmis-
sloner - i<nslcns, and about two dozen
aliases, tI4,S'<4 held for trial at Erie Pa. !
IN bondkof 45om